Precious Moments
by EJR HorseLady
Summary: Losing track of time Meliodas has only a few days to get a present for Elizabeth's 6th birthday. Fortunately he has help, of a sort, for a price. A gift fic for Vetur02.


Disclaimer: Seven Deadly Sins also known as Nanatsu No Taizai is not mine and I make no profit off of this.

Summary: Losing track of time Meliodas has only a few days to get a present for Elizabeth's 6th birthday. Fortunately he has help, of a sort, for a price.

Greetings all. I am once again writing a gift-fic only this time for Vetur02, who drew me a gorgeous picture for my Meliodas wearing nothing but his darkness prompt. Her artwork is BEAUTIFUL so go check her out on tumblr.

Because Vetur02 is such an accomplished artist I tried to incorporate that into my story in the form of colours, so that Vetur02 herself would be part of the story. Don't think it worked too well but I tried.

Special shoutout to lickitysplit for once again being an amazing person and helping me to create something I can be proud of.

* * *

 **Precious Moments**

A loud happy squeal echoed throughout the halls of the castle, causing all who heard it to roll their eyes in amusement at the sound. Meliodas just froze in place knowing he had been spotted and would be captured in just a moment.

Little shoes could be heard slapping hard against the stone floor as their owner ran full tilt down the hall issuing a war cry. "MEEEEEELLLLLL."

Lips twitching into a grin and shoulders starting to shake with building laughter Meliodas turned and easily caught the airborne princess who had, quite literally, jumped into his arms. Tiny arms immediately wrapped around his neck in a tight grip as legs wrapped around his waist in a similar hold.

Keeping one arm under her bottom to hold Elizabeth steady, the other moved up her back to rest at her shoulders returning her embrace. Closing his eyes Meliodas relaxed into the hold, cherishing the moment. It didn't matter if he needed silent company, a hug or a distraction, Elizabeth was always there ready and willing to give him exactly what he needed, and it amazed him every time.

Ending the moment Elizabeth leaned back as far as she could while still keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. "I'msogladyou'rebackImissedyousomuchareyougoingtostayforabitor-"

Having both hands occupied with supporting Elizabeth, Meliodas did the only thing left to him to stop her run on sentence. He kissed her on the nose. She stopped and brought her nose up into an adorable scrunch. "Breathe Elizabeth. I can't understand you when you talk that fast."

After giving one final wiggle of the nose Elizabeth gave him a big beautiful smile. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Meliodas replied as he started back the way he came. He wanted to enjoy Elizabeth's company for a little longer but knew that she would have her Latin class in the next little bit, so he decided to escort her to the classroom. Even if said room was at the other end of the castle and on a completely different floor.

Elizabeth seemed quite content to stay in his arms and Meliodas had no problem with it, her weight barely even registered in his mind. Playing with the golden locks of his hair Elizabeth pushed one strand behind his ear before giggling as it flopped back into place only to try again, taking huge delight in such a simple action.

"Mel?" Elizabeth asked trying to pet down a few flyaway strands on the top of his head. Meliodas simply hummed in acknowledgment as he turned to the left and took the stairs up. "Will you be staying for a bit?"

Meliodas had the sudden suspicion that Elizabeth was about to ask him for a favour. Usually when the topic of his job as a holy knight came up it was because she was feeling lonely and wanted to spend time with him. It didn't matter if that time was spent playing games or just sitting and listening to Meliodas tell of the various adventures he had been on, it was something they both cherished and Meliodas had no problem indulging.

"I should be, why do you ask?" Meliodas answered, waiting to see what she was going to ask of him.

"Can you come to my birthday party?"

Both feet and mind came to a sudden stop. Wait… it was June? Scrambling desperately to come up with a reply that wouldn't betray his suddenly reeling mind Meliodas stalled for time. "That's June twelfth right?"

"Yep." Elizabeth chirped happily, bouncing in his arms from happiness that he remembered. "So can you come?"

The smile on his face was practiced but the warmth in his eyes was real as Meliodas looked at her expectant face. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

Elizabeth's eyes took on a special shade of blue when she was happy and Meliodas could see that shift taking place now, it was like looking at a clear blue sky through a crystal glass. It had long since become Meliodas' favourite colour and he would be willing to do anything to keep seeing it in Elizabeth's eyes.

"Yay! I love you Mel." Elizabeth exclaimed as she once again threw her arms around his neck in a hold that would have no doubt strangled a human.

"I love you too little one, so very much." He loved her so much that he was willing to swallow his pride and ask for help from the one person he knew that would think of the perfect gift to give her.

~.~.~

Meliodas could easily admit that Margaret would make an excellent Queen. Already at the age of twelve she had perfected the deadpan disbelief look and was currently using it against him. Meliodas fought the urge to squirm under that look and had to admire the fact that she even made him feel that way at all. Not many could accomplish that.

Margaret opened her mouth to speak before thinking the better of it and turned it into a sigh instead. Licking her lips she tried again. "I can not believe that you forgot her birthday."

"I didn't forget her birthday, I just didn't realize that it was so close." Meliodas replied indignant at the mere thought of forgetting Elizabeth's birthday. He would never forget her birthday! Forgetting what day today was is an entirely different matter, however. Actually he still didn't know what day today was, or how much time he had left before June twelfth. He should probably find that out.

Margaret was not the least bit amused, nor was she distracted by the Sin's word game. "So you forgot."

"I just lost track of time, that's all." Meliodas protested, looking around discreetly for a calendar, or anything at all really, that would give him a hint of the date.

"Meliodas!"

That was impressive. There weren't many who were comfortable enough with him to say his name in _that_ tone.

Trying desperately to salvage the situation Meliodas explained. "The older you get the easier it is to lose track of time."

"Really?"

"In my defence the human calendar makes no sense. Why do some months have thirty days, some have thirty one, and one have twenty eight except every four years when it has twenty nine? Those numbers make no sense at all. Whatever happened to using the lunar cycle? That at least is a constant twenty nine days."

"...Wow you must be absolutely ancient."

"You have no idea." Meliodas muttered under his breath. "So Elizabeth. Present. Help. Please."

Margaret sighed in defeat. "You're lucky I like you."

Glad that things were back on track Meliodas shot Margaret a happy grin. "Great. Thanks Margaret, I owe you one. Now if you could just do me one more favour?" At Margaret's raised eyebrow he continued, "Could you tell me what day it is today?"

" _Meliodas_!"

There's that tone again.

~.~.~

Meliodas wasn't entirely sure what Margaret had planned for him to give Elizabeth for a present, but with no other instructions other than 'come back tomorrow wearing casual clothes, you're taking me somewhere' he didn't have much to go on. So not knowing where they would be going Meliodas decided to dress casual but nice.

Donning a shirt the colour of cherrywood, a long white jacket that fell to his knees, simple black trousers and a pair of leather boots that went up to his knees, Meliodas thought that he had accomplished the casual yet nice look. Fortunately the jacket was similar in style to the one he wore while finding the Sins and had a spot on the back where he could attach the scabbard for the dragon hilt without having to use the leather baldric. Meliodas had debated on taking Lostvayne as well since he would be escorting a princess, but ultimately decided against it, as he doubted that they would be leaving Liones.

It was a little earlier than when they had planned to meet, but Meliodas wanted to head for the castle now since he would much prefer to be early than late, only to be met with unexpected resistance.

"Wow Captain you look nice. Do you have a date?"

King's innocent comment set off a chain reaction.

"WHAT?! Captain has a date? No fair!"

"Ooh, gonna have a little fun today Cap'n?"

"Of course a man as great as our Captain would catch the eye of a woman."

It had gotten crowded in the dining room rather quickly with all the Sins coming in wanting to see their Captain dressed up. Gowther in his ever present armour, Escanor getting bigger with every passing moment, and Diane in general taking up the most room. Each with words of praise for his outfit and questions of the occasion filling the air.

More than a little annoyed at the situation he had suddenly found himself in Meliodas shot an irritated look toward King, who at least had the grace to look sorry, for starting the whole mess. "It's not a date." He said trying to calm everyone down.

"C'mon Cap'n fess up. You haven't dressed up in anything this nice before, and you never wear colours~." Ban sing songed.

"You never dress nice for me." Diane moaned in dismay.

Ignoring the previous comment as well as King's stumbling attempt at making Diane feel better Meliodas tried for simple answer in hopes of getting everyone to drop the subject. "I wear red all the time."

"Yea to hide the blood." Ban scoffed.

"Indeed dear Captain, still a few questions if you will." Merlin chimed in, eyes shining with delight.

Meliodas could only slump in defeat knowing that the payback that was promised three hundred sixty years ago was about to be delivered. Sometimes it really sucked knowing Merlin for so long.

Seeing that she had him cornered and that he wouldn't fight back Merlin began her interrogation. "You're meeting with someone correct?"

"Yes." Meliodas replied simply, just wanting the conversation to be over.

"That person is a woman capable of bearing children?"

"Yes." What a day that had been when he acquired that particular bit of information. Elizabeth had come to him all excited that her sister was finally a woman and proceeded to ask him every question she could think of. Loudly.

"Do you plan on spending more time with her in the future?"

Did Elizabeth's birthday party count? Fuck it probably did. "Yes."

Humming thoughtfully Merlin's lips twitched up into a smile. "I see. That will be all for now."

With a snap of her fingers Meliodas suddenly found himself standing just outside the castle gate. The protests that the other Sins started to make at the abrupt ending of the interrogation silenced immediately. He knew that it wasn't over and that a second, more embarrassing round of questions would come the moment he returned to the barracks that he called home. This game had been going on for the better part of one thousand years and it was still totally worth it. The look on Merlin's face back then as he fired off one question after another, as all their friends misunderstood the point of the questions he was asking… Priceless.

Lost in the memories of times long past Meliodas made his way through the gate and into the castle. Due to the delay cause by the nosey Sins he arrived right on time instead of early like he had planned, fortunately Merlin teleporting him to the castle ment that he avoided being late.

Margaret was a sight. Instead of a royal ball gown she wore a simple summer dress of a highborn noble. It was pale yellow with bright green flowers decorating the cinch of the waist and bottom edge of the skirt. The colours complimented her lavender hair and hazel eyes perfectly.

"You look lovely." Meliodas complemented honestly.

Margaret bowed her head trying unsuccessfully to hide a blush. "Thank you. You look nice too."

Smiling at the suddenly shy princess Meliodas offered his arm. "Well then princess, shall we be off to who-knows-where?"

"Indeed Sir Knight. Let us be off." Margaret replied with a teasing grin of her own.

Conversation flowed easily between them, for Margaret it was a wonderful experience just talking with someone who ignored her status as a princess and instead treated her as a friend. Gentle teases were aplenty; "- _it's called style Meliodas something which, up until today at least, you have lacked_." Gossip was shared; " _-and then Ban, who was walking backwards gloating, fell off the edge of the hill only to land in a leech infested bog_." Personal questions were asked; " _how do you kiss someone who's so much taller than you_?" And playful arguments erupted now and then; " _my hair does_ not _look like a messy bird nest_." " _Oh yes it does._ "

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky and Margaret's stomach growled with hunger that either of them stopped to look at each other in shock at how much time had gone by without their notice.

"So where are we going anyway? Meliodas asked the lavender haired princess next to him.

Looking around in confusion Margaret eyed the unfamiliar streets. "I heard from the maids that there's a shop that sells excellent quality fabrics, it's run by an old widow and her daughter. They can even make it into clothing or dolls of your choice for an extra price."

Well that sounded promising. "Ok, so where's that?"

Margaret looked up at him blankly, clearly baffled by the question. "I thought you would know."

Shaking his head slowly, knowing that this would not be the response the lavender haired princess would want to hear Meliodas could only admit the truth. "Nope, never heard of the place."

"So we're lost," Margaret stated in exasperation to the man standing before her.

Meliodas couldn't help but roll his eyes at such a preposterous declaration. It was like the woman had no faith in his ability to navigate around a walled village, especially with a prominent feature like a large castle to use as a point of reference. "We're not lost."

"You don't know how to get to where we need to be, so we are lost." Margaret crossed her arms and drew herself up to full height. It would have been more impressive if her natural height allowed her to do more than barely brush his chin.

"I don't know of every single shop and stall in all of Liones, but we're not lost." Meliodas corrected, crossing his own arms to mirror the woman's posture as they both faced off.

"So then where are we?"

"North of the castle."

"Oh how observant."

"Well we are."

"Do you at least know if there's someplace to eat around here?"

"You're going to make me pay aren't you?"

"Of course, it's the least you can do for all the stress you're putting me through.

"What stress?"

"The way you avoided answering my question shows that you don't in fact know where we are and are thus lost."

"Oh for goodness sake." Meliodas threw up his hands in defeat. There was no winning with this woman.

~.~.~

Lunch was a rather simple and pleasant event. Contrary to Margaret's firm belief of being lost Meliodas did in fact know exactly where they were and knew of a popular cart vendor that sold food in the area.

Margaret, who wasn't entirely sure of what to order, allowed Meliodas to decide for them both and the duo ended up with a meat pie that was so full of flavour that Margaret ended up eating the entire thing herself. With a mock grumble Meliodas went to go buy another from the man who ran the stall, only to have to fight off little hands trying to sneak pieces of this pie too, prompting another round of bickering.

Hunger sated and with instructions on how to get to the fabric shop from the cart owner fresh in their mind, the two set off towards the south as they had apparently gone in the wrong direction completely. Very quickly the two created a game to see who could stay in the shadows and avoid being hit in the eyes by the afternoon sunlight, both were laughing in delight as they hopped in and out of the light and dark patches.

They were so wrapped up in their game that they almost passed by their target completely. It was Meliodas who spotted the bright splash of colour out of the corner of his eye and turned to look, spotting different rolls of fabrics in all sorts of colours hanging on display in a store window.

Margaret, who had grabbed his hand to try and tug him out of the little shadow he had hid in, realized that his focus was now elsewhere. Turning to see what he was looking at Margaret was pleasantly surprised to find the shop they had been looking for.

Using the hand she had grabbed only moments ago Margaret pulled Meliodas from the shady spot and towards the shop, eager to complete their mission for the day. Once inside both suddenly realized that what had seemed like a tasteful display from the street window was actually the spillover from a chaotic explosion from the inside.

"Wow. It's like a rainbow crashed into an erupting volcano and didn't know what to do with itself." Meliodas said, impressed with all the different fabrics and colours scattered around in a mess. If there was any order to be found there, Meliodas couldn't see it.

Margaret, who wasn't entirely sure what to say to that unique description of the shop interior, just shot him a look between disbelief at the imagery and admiration that he had managed to so accurately describe the situation of the shop.

Hearing voices an elderly woman walked out of a side room that neither had noticed hidden behind yet more fabrics hanging from a wall. "Good day to you my Lord and Lady."

"Hello ma'am." Margaret replied with a polite smile.

Looking between the two, the woman decided to address the young woman who greeted her, since the young man she was with simply eyed her a bit before nodding in respect. "What can I help you with?"

"This forgetful old man," here Margaret snaked her arms around Meliodas' right arm and held tight as a warning to the blonde to not protest her words. "Is looking to make a stuffed dragon for my sister's birthday."

Eyeing the two standing before her thoughtfully the shop owner rightfully concluded that there was a story behind those words and more to the situation than she knows. However it isn't any of her business and focused instead on what, to her, is the important bit. "A dragon? That's a unique request. Do you know what colours you want?"

"Yes, I do." Margaret said with a wicked smile gracing her face, pulling Meliodas forward to stand closer to the woman. "The dragon's body must be the exact same green as his eyes and its eyes must be the exact same gold as his hair. Doesn't he have the most beautiful colouring?"

Meliodas could only stand there gaping in complete shock at what he was hearing while the woman laughed and agreed.

~.~.~

Spending the remaining afternoon in the woman's shop and being the target of their teasing, while not all that bad, was still not how Meliodas envisioned his day would go. Still Margaret's idea of creating a stuffed dragon with his colouring was brilliant as it would allow Elizabeth to have something that represented him with her at all times, and would hopefully allow her to not feel so lonely whenever he left for long periods of time.

By the time Margaret finished discussing all the fine details with the shop owner it was approaching early evening. Much to both their dismay Meliodas knew that he needed to get Margaret back before dinner, or risk getting scolded by Bartra.

"Here we are, home safe and sound." Meliodas said to the woman on his arm.

"Thank you. I had fun today." Margaret said letting go of his arm. "Would it be too much to ask if we can do this again someday?"

"No, thank you for your help, and I had fun today too. You certainly make for excellent company." Meliodas replied watching as Gilthunder ran up from behind Margaret. "Hey Little Gil, what's up?"

"I-I heard that you were seeing a suitor today Margaret." Gilthunder panted out, trying to catch his breath from the run.

Meliodas shot a confused look at Margaret, wondering what exactly she told people to be excused from her daily lessons. Seeing a matching confused look on Margaret's face told him that she didn't know where that rumour came from either.

"Who told you that Little Gil?" Meliodas asked, determined to figure out who was spreading rumours about Margaret. Rumours like that could do a lot of damage, especially since it was about the crowned princess of Liones.

Sensing that he had inadvertently stumbled into something, Gilthunder hastily explained. "Father said that Margaret had a date with a potential suitor and would be out of the castle all afternoon. Were you their chaperone?"

"Zaratras." Meliodas hissed just as the man in question walked into the hall alongside King Bartra.

Feeling heated eyes on him, Zaratras turned in the direction it was coming from only to see a blonde with green eyes glaring pure fire at him. Oops, looks like his little tease to Gilthunder would be coming back to get him.

Bartra, upon realizing that his eldest child had returned, walked over. "Welcome back child, did you enjoy your outing?"

Smiling brightly Margaret nodded. "I did Father, Meliodas was wonderful company."

"Wait Meliodas was your date?" Gilthunder asked confused.

"I knew Meliodas would be guarding you but what's this about a date?" Bartra asked also confused.

"It was not a date, Father. We simply wandered around a bit before he bought me lunch and bought a gift for Elizabeth's birthday, then we returned back." Margaret corrected, privately getting annoyed by the continued use of the word 'date'.

"Hmm that sounds like a date to me. Best be careful Bartra or they'll be married before you know it." Zaratras chimed in teasing.

Straightening suddenly in firm resolve, Bartra opened his mouth to voice his disapproval. "Absolutely not. I forbid any further dates with Meliodas."

A shocked look crossed Margaret's face at such a strong reaction, while Gilthunder flinched back with wide eyes. Meliodas, in contrast, seemed unaffected.

"Why? What's so wrong with me?" Meliodas wondered out loud.

Freezing in realization both Margaret and Gilthunder easily picked up on his train of thought. "Yeah what's wrong with Meliodas?" They asked the king in concert.

Thrown off balance by the sudden unity of the two, Bartra scrambled to come up with an answer. "Nothing, it's just well…" Bartra trailed off and gave a helpless shrug. At seeing the hard look directed at him from two young faces Bartra knew he had to come up with something quick. "A man of his stature and mannerisms simply isn't suited for someone like you Margaret."

Bizarrely both Margaret and Gilthunder were offended by that.

"Mannerisms? He's an absolute gentleman with enough wit to make even the dullest conversations interesting."

"So you're saying that because of his height he isn't suitable for a woman as wonderful as Margaret?"

"Or is this really about age? Because-"

"Or by stature you mean Holy Knight, someone who-?"

"-been an adult for ages, what do I have to do to make you see-"

 _What have I started_? Bartra wondered in bemusement as he was besieged from both sides. Zaratras was no help as he was watching in stunned disbelief as his son lectured their king.

"-not good enough for a prin-"

"Really that's the most ridicu-"

"Can't believe that you're implying-"

"-said I could marry whom I choose and now you-"

"Okay, enough." Meliodas cut in trying to diffuse the situation, as well as rescue Bartra from the verbal onslaught. "Why don't we all just stop and go our separate ways? That way everyone will have time to cool off before someone says something that they'll regret later."

"I agree," Zaratras cut in. "Best to acknowledge a losing battle and withdraw before taking too much loss." He advised his king.

"I agree." Bartra said chagrined. "I apologize for my words, I misspoke."

"Ah, no worries Bartra," Meliodas waved off. "It's all good."

Before he left Margaret walked right up to Meliodas and, in full view of her father, kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for being wonderful."

~.~.~

Opening the door to the barracks he shared with the other Sins, Meliodas was immediately the focus of five pairs of eyes and one faceless suit of armour. "Damn, I forgot about all of you."

"Hello to you too, dear Captain." Merlin purred, focused with deadly intent like a cat ready to pounce.

Closing the door, taking off his jacket and folding it over one arm Meliodas eyed the waiting Sins in disbelief. "Don't you have anything better to do than sit around waiting for me to come back?"

"So mean." Diane pouted, "all we wanted to do was see how your first date went."

"What do you mean 'first date'?" Only realizing after he said it how that sounded. Sure enough everyone pounced, voices merging into a chaotic mess.

"WHAT?! You mean you've gone out with this person before? I can't believe that the man of my dreams is with another woman and didn't _tell me_!"

"With whispers in secret as you walk down this path, You protect her and shield her from envious wrath."

"Now I'm sure it's not that bad Diane. Captain must have his reasons."

"To go out on a second date implies that the woman who Captain is engaging relations with is to his satisfaction, as he wishes to spend more time together."

Ignoring all of them, including Ban's rancorous laughter, Meliodas walked to the table where Merlin sat with a stein already full of ale waiting for him as well as a empty glass mug. Taking the stein and downing the liquid in a few gulps Meliodas placed it back on the table before admitting to his folly ruefully. "I walked right into that one."

"Yes, you did." Merlin said softly with a hint of laughter as she took an unmarked bottle and poured it into the mug. Meliodas blinked in surprise at the dark amber liquid, he could tell from the colour and smell that this drink was not ale. Seeing his interest Merlin explained. "Four hundred year old _uisge beatha_."

Eyebrows shooting up in surprise Meliodas looked at her in shock, and more than a little dread. For Merlin to break into her secret stash of drinks meant that he was going to be in for some awful teasing tonight.

Silently admitting that there was no getting out of the mess he himself helped to create, Meliodas took the glass and raised it into the air both to acknowledge Merlin's gesture of goodwill and to show that he would play her game. Taking a sip and savouring the taste, Meliodas sat back and waited for the interrogation/torture to begin.

"Now then, dear Captain." Merlin began, gaining the attention of the other Sins causing them to settle down in a hurry, much to his silent irritation. "The woman that you had your outing with, did she dress up for you too?"

"Yes, she looked quite lovely." Meliodas replied watching the liquid slosh in his glass as he turned it to and fro. He was glad that Merlin poured this into a glass mug so he could enjoy how it changed from marigold to ginger to amber in the glow of firelight from the hearth.

Ban's laugh as well as his slap on the table brought Meliodas out of his alcoholic thoughts. "Man Cap'n if just the mention of her sends you to la la land like this, then you got it bad."

"I wasn't-"

"Captain." Merlin interrupted his protest quickly, not wanting to let him get any denials in. "What did you do on your outing?"

Employing the tactic from earlier of using short concise answers, Meliodas hoped to survive this second interrogation without losing any further pride today. "Walked around Liones, ate lunch, went shopping, walked her home."

"That's it? Sounds boring."

"I think it sounds romantic."

"I believe that it could be considered a standard date, as most courting couples perform those very same actions at least once in the courtship process."

Delighted in the fact that her fellow Sins were indirectly helping in her revenge, Merlin continued. "Did you hold her hand at any time?"

Well she did grab and pull him around using his hand and arm several times. "Yes."

"Was there a kiss involved at some point?"

"...Merlin were you spying using Aldan?"

"Judging from the Captain's reply, I calculate a 98% chance that there was kissing involved."

"I want to kiss the Captain."

Merlin sniffed disdainfully. "I have no need to spy."

Meliodas refused to answer and just sipped away at the wonderful whisky. Even if it was just a kiss on the cheek, the others would no doubt misunderstand, which was Merlin's goal in this little game that they were playing. Of course they were going to misunderstand his silence too…

"C'mon Cap'n. No answer is still an answer~."

Half finished with his drink, and hoping to end the interrogation now while there wasn't much embarrassment involved, Meliodas stood cradling the mug carefully. "I think I'll finish this in my room, good night everyone."

"One final thing dear Captain." Merlin called out, hoping to get this last dig in before Meliodas could complete his retreat. "I was at the palace earlier today and saw you talking to the woman's father. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that the topic was about marriage."

"WHAT?" Came the collective cry from the spectators.

Mouth once again agape in shock, Meliodas froze for only a moment before admitting that there was no saving face and that Merlin had indeed gotten her payback. Striding back to Merlin's side Meliodas grabbed the unmarked bottle from her unresisting hands before turning to march off to his room, determined not to leave until he had to report for duty tomorrow.

Merlin watched him go with a wickedly satisfied look on her face.

~.~.~

Once again Meliodas donned nice clothing.

This time he was wearing a dark red shirt that looked either burgundy or royal red depending on the lighting, and the same black trousers and knee-high boots. Unlike before this time he wore no jacket since summer heat had set in with a vengeance, so after removing the broken blade Meliodas took the dragon hilt and secured it around his waist using a leather belt.

Knowing that he was in for another round of teasing if his fellow Sins saw him dressed up again, Meliodas could only hope that they were all occupied elsewhere so that he might be able to leave unseen. Pausing briefly to listen at the door for any noises Meliodas quietly made his way down the hall and into the shared kitchen/living space, noting that no one was around and that he was free… until he returned that is.

"Well what have we here~?" Ban's voice broke the silence.

Damn. No luck at all.

"Ya know I'm really starting to wonder what kinda girl would catch your eye like this Cap'n." Ban wondered out loud as he eyed his Captain's clothing with a raised eyebrow. Receiving no response other than a baleful look Ban raised his hands in mock surrender. "I mean I know it's not any of my business, I'm just curious is all."

Meliodas quickly weighed the pros and cons of answering before deciding to just go for it, the worst thing that could happen is more teasing. "I'm just going to pick up the present that Margaret and I ordered and then head to the castle for Elizabeth's birthday party."

Understanding entered Ban's face as he suddenly got it before breaking out into laughter. "Oh. Oh, Merlin got us all good."

"That she did." Meliodas muttered in agreement with a laugh of his own, watching as Ban recovered from his laughing fit to make his way into the kitchen hunting for the bottles of ale.

Finding what he was looking for Ban loaded up his arms and made his way back to his room. "Well have fun at your party Cap'n." He tossed over his shoulder.

"See you later Ban." Meliodas replied as he walked out the door into the morning air.

Even though the fabric shop wasn't too far from the barracks where the Sins lived, it was still a bit of a walk but less of one than it took to get to the castle. Still, Meliodas moved at a brisk walk since he had to go there first to pick up the dragon before heading to the castle for the party..

He just hoped that Elizabeth liked her dragon.

~.~.~

Elizabeth _loved_ her dragon.

The first thing she did upon receiving it was to jump into the air and wrap her arms around Meliodas' neck, doing her best to hug him to death, followed shortly after by planting herself firmly in his lap while cooing over her new friend named Precious.

Most everyone present noticed the colour scheme right away and were amused by the symbolism. However not everyone was happy about him or his present.

Meliodas was rather amused at how he was being glared at by a child. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, hands placed on her hips, and face set in a fierce scowl. Hazel eyes unwavering in their ferocity from beneath violet hair.

Veronica was never happy to see him, but this time seemed a little more personal than usual.

"Why is your sister so unhappy with me today?" Meliodas asked the now six year old sitting comfortably in his lap.

Looking up from her new dragon, Elizabeth looked over at the sister in question before issuing a scowl of her own. "Because I'm gonna marry you when I grow up and she can't stop me and that other woman can't have you either!" she declared passionately.

Hearing Zaratras start to snicker off to his right, Meliodas thought it best to cut off the teasing before it began and further riled up the two fuming princesses. Watching the 'other woman' roll her eyes at the comment, Meliodas wrapped his arms more firmly around the little girl sitting so trustingly in his embrace. "Okay," he said simply, knowing he was provoking a different battle than the one between the two children.

Meliodas could see Bartra's face darkening from the corner of his eye, but his focus was more on Elizabeth who partly turned to look at him as her face quickly lit up in joy and that treasured crystal blue entered into her eyes.

"Really?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly, hoping that her dream would come true.

An easy relaxed grin appeared on his face. "Yep. When you become a woman, and if you still want me, then we can get married."

"Yes!" Elizabeth exclaimed happily, discarding her dragon to turn the rest of the way around in his lap and wrap her arms around his neck tightly. "This is the best birthday _ever_."

"Nooo!" Veronica wailed in absolute horror.

Meliodas watched with a smile as Zaratras laughed, Veronica loudly proclaimed all the reasons why they couldn't be married, Bartra trying to calm Veronica down all the while shooting him dirty looks, and Little Gil and Margaret exchanged looks and happy smiles.

As arms around his neck tightened in their embrace, Meliodas could only bring his own arms up to wrap around Elizabeth in a return embrace. When it came time for Elizabeth to make a birthday wish, once all the bickering had finally been quelled, Meliodas made a little wish of his own.

 _What I would give for this day… this joy… to last an eternity..._

* * *

End

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